Contemporary artist Ryder Richards to speak Oct. 13

Presented by the UAB Department of Art and Art History, Visiting Artist Ryder Richards will speak on his interdisciplinary practice.

ryder richards pinnedRyder Richards, "Pinned" 2015, 82’’ x 52’’ x 52’’ Lights, battery, blaster, baseballs, balloons, acrylic shields, plastic, acrylic paint. Image courtesy of the artist.Artist Ryder Richards will lecture on his interdisciplinary practice at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Presented by the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Art and Art History, the visiting artist’s lecture will take place in the Hess Lecture Hall of the CAS Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, 1221 10th Ave. South. For more information, contact DAAH Outreach Coordinator Jared Ragland at raglandj@uab.edu.

Richards’ work can be seen as an investigation of influences related to building power and identity.

“Often embracing cultural constructs with subversive tendencies, the work explores violence, romance, architectural influence and systems of unknowing,” he wrote in a statement about his work.

“With several facets to my practice (writing, curating and several collaborations), many of my projects are research-based, expanding my conceptual practice and the materiality of the work.”

“Specific pieces are performative works based around invisible labor within the art world, while others take the form of tightly rendered drawings, paintings or installations commenting on high-modernism’s relationship to science fiction,” Richards said.

ryder richards2Ryder Richards“Currently, my work is investigating the aesthetics of civil unrest involving police power dynamics and civilian rebuttals.” Visit his website to read more.

Richards grew up in Roswell, New Mexico, and currently lives and works outside of Dallas. Richards is a co-founder of the RJP Nomadic Gallery (a traveling art gallery), Culture Laboratory (an Internet-based collective exhibiting internationally) and Dallas-based group The Art Foundation. He has curated and shown his work in many exhibitions and is the recipient of several scholarships, travels abroad and awards for his achievements in art, including five artist-in-residence programs, most recently the Roswell Artist-in-Residence (2012-2013). Writing for Glasstire.com, D Magazine and other publications prompted Richards to found Eutopia: Contemporary Art Review, focused on concise arts writing.

Richards has exhibited in museums and galleries from Seattle to Switzerland. He has participated in the Texas Biennial 2011 and 2013 and the Dallas Biennial 2012 and 2014. Richards has works in the permanent collections of The Anderson Contemporary Museum, Roswell Museum, McNeese University, Richland College and several private collectors.